Hugh Weber

FOUNDER & Curator, Institute of Possibility

A native of Milbank, SD (pop. 3,300), Hugh uses a variety of research, branding, experience design and community organizing skills as Curator of the Institute of Possibility to reveal the rich stories, vibrant culture and infinite possibility that often lays hidden in the communities that we love most.

In the world of advertising, marketing and communications, where everyone thinks they’re the next Mark Twain ready to create stories, the skills of a story discoverer – listening, observing, refining and adapting – are a rare commodity. Hugh has a gift for taking the passions and purposes of an organization and providing them the perspective necessary to inspire action – whether that action is a simple transaction or a lifelong commitment.

Hugh has provided thought leadership and general management for award-winning online and social media campaigns, as well as research, story discovery and strategic management for marketing in niches including colleges and universities, biofuels, technology, health care, tourism, fatherhood, community development and churches.

Since 2009, Hugh has served as CEO and Curator for OTA, a for-purpose organization focused on sparking regional transformation through creative connections and collisions in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.

In 2008, Hugh started DudetoDad.com as a genuine cry for help from an ordinary dude who wanted to be an extraordinary dad. Dude to Dad grew to include a social network of 85,000 fathers and two books, an Amazon Parenting #1 & #2 Bestseller.

Hugh was recently designated by Ford Motor Company as a “heavy hitter” in social media storytelling and honored as their “social activism” challenge winner in 2009. He has partnered with Microsoft, Nintendo, Carnival Cruise Lines, Nokia, and Ford and has been quoted and referenced by the Washington Post, Inc. Magazine, Glamour Magazine, New Zealand National Radio, Chicago Tribune, Pregnancy Magazine, the Associated Press, Philadelphia Inquirer, Wisconsin Public Radio and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

Hugh lives in the OTA states with his beautiful, intelligent and extremely patient wife, Amy; his daughter, Emerson; and his son, Finn.